Sarah Howard

Profile

I completed my PhD in Education at the University of Sydney (Australia) with Professor Peter Goodyear, in the CoCo Research Centre. My thesis addresssed ‘The cultural and individual risk perceptions of ICT Integration’. This work explored the risks perceived by teaches and schools, how these related to hierarchical cultural types using grid-group typology, and how this affected technology-related change. I followed this with a 1-year postdoctoral fellowship, also at the University of Sydney, working with Professor Michael Jacobson on XR-based science education in schools. In 2010, I took a full-time position at the University of Wollongong, just south of Sydney. I was there for 15 years, as an academic in the area of Digital Technologies for Learning. I accepted a Guest Professor position at the Vrije Universiteit in Brussels, in 2022. I came to the University of Leeds in the beginning of 2025, as a Professor of Digital Education. I continue as an Honorary Professor at the University of Wollongong.

Responsibilities

• Lead, Centre for Digital Education

Research interests

My research addresses the adoption and integration of new and emerging technologies, innovation and change in schools and higher education. Specifically, my recent work considers the use of new digital technologies and related educational data, and how they are made meaningful for teachers and learners. This work involves collaboration with schools, teachers, data scientists and artificial intelligence engineers to design new ways of capturing and understanding digital technology use in teaching and learning across physical and digital spaces. I have extensive experience collaborating with practitioners and industry stakeholders, with the aim to bring the sectors together with research to benefit learners of all ages.

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Sydney, Education
• MA, University of San Francisco, Educational Technology
• BA, Wheaton College (MA), Studio Art & Art History

Professional memberships

• European Association for Rearche on Learning and Instruction (EARLI)
• Executive Board Member, Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)

Student education

I am the Program Director of the Digital Education Masters Degree. I teach into this degree. I also teach into the undergraduate BA Childhood Studies and Education degrees. I supervise MA and PhD students in the area of Digital Education, technology integration, technology adoption and change.